-LRB- CNN -RRB- -- `` People would say , ` Oh , what 's wrong with your golf , what 's going on with your golf ? ' and I thought , it 's not golf , it 's my head . It 's me . ''

When Lindsey Wright spoke after the opening round of the women 's golf season 's first major tournament on Thursday , it was n't just her impressive five-under-par 67 at the Kraft Nabisco Championship that people wanted to talk about .

The Australian turned her back on golf last October , struggling with the isolation of life on the LPGA Tour and under the weight of a condition which was driving her to drink .

`` People think , ` Depression , just get over it ' if you 're in a bad mood or whatever . It really impacts you physically , '' the 32-year-old revealed .

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`` Playing on this tour , coming out and trying to play , grinding it out each week when you 're not sleeping and you ca n't concentrate or focus and the other symptoms with it , it just gets you down , and it 's a bit of a nightmare . ''

Wright 's battle was depression was at its fiercest during lonely nights on tour , when the only respite she could find was in the bottle .

`` But I think the lowest is when you have insomnia and you 're waking up at 2 a.m. , '' the four-time LPGA Tour winner said . `` There 's no relief from your mind , really , and I mean , the only time I really had any relief is if you had probably two bottles of red wine .

`` It helps you sleep , but it 's not the way to combat it . That 's when I realized I 've got a problem here , and I 've got to deal with it because I 'm getting worse . ''

Wright 's condition was at its worse in 2009 , after she had just achieved the most impressive result of her career by coming second at the LPGA Championship -- one of four majors in the women 's season .

`` I had a great season , '' she said . `` I finished second to Anna Nordqvist at the LPGA Championship , and after that it was kind of on a downhill slope , slippery slope .

`` It just kind of happened quickly . You have bouts , and without getting into the psychology and everything , it was n't a great time , and I just could n't really get through it .

`` I rang home in September last year and said , ` I 'm done . I do n't want to play anymore . ' And my dad had said , ` You know what , that 's great if you want to do that , but you need to have something to fall back on . ' ''

So during her time away from the course , Wright set about taking her first steps on alternative career paths .

`` I worked as a media person at the men 's New South Wales State Open , and then I worked with the tournament office at the men 's Australian Open and did some other things relating to media stuff and sport , '' she said .

`` It was really great . I did n't pick up a golf club from the last event I played , which is Taiwan , until January 2 . ''

Wright 's break from the sport seems to have worked wonders . She holed a 13-foot birdie putt to clinch the New Zealand Open last month , and after a solid first round she is on track to challenge for her first major title in California .

`` If you had said to me before New Zealand , you 're going to win , I would have went , ` Oh , yeah , whatever , I 'm so unlucky . ' But having won that tournament has opened all these doors for me to play in Europe , which I really want to do .

`` I 'm excited to do that . And I 'm really enjoying my golf , which it 's not a grind anymore . I 'm actually enjoying it , the good and the bad . ''

Wright was one shot off the lead held by South Korean Amy Yang , who carded a 66 .

Taiwan 's five-time major winner Yani Tseng -LRB- 68 -RRB- was one stroke back from Wright , ahead of a clutch of players on three under including 2010 U.S. Open winner Paula Creamer .

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Lindsey Wright makes strong start to Kraft Nabisco Championship , one shot off lead

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The Australian recently took time away from golf to battle with depression

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Wright says on some nights she drank two bottles of wine to help her sleep

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She won the New Zealand Open in February , a month after returning to the sport